SILKO Archives: Here it is......

------=_NextPart_000_0006_01BD0C52.4E59C700
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

I thought that the documentary on Silko was interesting. I think that =
the first thing that I was really struck by was her age. After reading =
Ceremony I thought that the author was an elder female and was passing =
on the story and the traditions as a grandmother type figure. Then I see =
the author, sitting on the swing, telling stories to her friends and I =
am struck by the lack of seriousness. Ceremony has such a heavy overtone =
to it. The issues that it raises and the scale of the problem leads me =
to interpret that a serious mature female writer is at the helm of the =
story. Stereotypes were made to be broken!=20

I think besides the stereotype that I had it shows the depth and =
well-rounded nature to Silko and her writing. Ceremony is a road map for =
the Native American Indian and their struggle with western civilization. =
The ceremony is outline and the commitment to traditional ways must be a =
strong one. On the other hand we get a chance to see Silko in another =
light. Jovial, lighthearted telling her stories to friends on the porch =
somewhere on the reservation. It made me re-think the tone of Ceremony. =
Is it truly this heavy topic and a very drastic restructuring of life? =
Alternatively, is it a series of steps that need to be taken in the =
individuals due time? After the movie on Silko I would think more of the =
last statement.

As far as the movie Thunderheart, I think that have a chip on my =
shoulder when it comes to Hollywood and producing accurate movies. I =
think that as a society we rely too much on television and movies to =
give us a historical perspective on things. Unfortunately what happens =
or happened in history is not necessary financial lucrative and as a =
result Hollywood changes the script to make it more interesting. I think =
that the Oliver Stone movie JFK is a prime example of this pitfall. It =
was not billed, as a purely historical look at the death of JFK but too =
many individuals, of my generation, will quote information from that =
movie as the only source to the events surrounding JFK death. I think =
that this is a dangerous mentality to adopt.

Ok I am off my soapbox and ready to comment on Thunderheart. I think =
that there are similarities between Val Kilmer=92s character and Tayo. =
There is this struggle between two worlds. On one hand the traditional =
aspects of Val Kilmer=92s character and then his job that his heavily =
entrenched in western civilization. The similarities between the abusive =
father and Tayo=92s problems related to Rocky=92s death. Both stories =
deal with life on the reservation. I guess that is all well and good but =
if you really want to understand what is going on with Native American =
culture and their struggle then get informed and visit the reservation. =
Talk with the people that this movie is all about. Sure you are an =
outsider but if you truly make the effort to get informed and show =
continued interest then you will gain a greater understanding that =
Thunderheart can offer.

I was glad to hear what Robert Big Elk had to say. I think that going =
out into the public and letting the western civilization know what he =
has been through is an important lesson for us. I also think it is an =
important step for Robert and his ability to make this experience a =
positive one in his life. I found what he had to say confusing at many =
points. I think that the largest question I had after his talk was about =
the role of Christianity. I understand that many of his worst =
experiences where under the direction of Catholic teachers. However, I =
also heard that Christianity and Native American beliefs have many =
similarities and a mutual ground can be struck between the two. I wonder =
if his feeling of anger and resentment is for just the Catholic teachers =
or is it a larger resentment.=20

I am glad that he also talked about the flip side to the topic and that =
being that he did get a good education. I think that this understanding =
of the good and the bad experience shows that he is coping with the =
experience and making it something positive in his life.

I would have liked to ask him some questions though. What should the =
role of Native American be in western civilization today? What role =
should Christianity play in the lives of Native American if any? Who do =
you blame for your experiences in this boarding school? I would have =
liked to ask some of these questions but the amount of time at the end =
of the class just was not enough but it was an interesting and important =
opportunity.

The most interesting character in Ceremony for me was Harley. Here we =
have a Native American who has gone through the war with Tayo and has =
returned to life on the reservation. The part that interests me is the =
fact that Harley seems happy or content. He drinks, drives around the =
reservation and hangs out with Tayo and company but we do not see any =
internal rumbling that you see with Tayo or the any of the more caustic =
behavior of Emo. He seems to be this happy go lucky character that =
doesn=92t have any deep felt believe system about his culture or western =
civilization. With this attitude he ends up a martyr at the hands of =
Emo. That scene still sits a little awkward with me because of seemly =
lack of loyalty that Tayo has for his friend. I understand that the =
Ceremony is much bigger that Harley or Emo or the reservation but Harley =
was one of the few "non toxic" components in Tayo=92s life.=20

I read Ceremony in large chunks because it helped me get a large =
understanding of the story and it helped with the chronological upheaval =
in the first half of the book. But this tactic didn=92t work well for =
Storyteller. There were so many stories and poems that either were in =
Ceremony or that were similar to Ceremony that I really jumbled them all =
together. It I had it to do over I would have read a few stories or =
poems at a time.=20

For me Storyteller was new and interesting and a repeat all at the same =
time. Silko was collecting the parts or components to write Ceremony. In =
Storyteller the parts have an order, a place and a message that is very =
different than Ceremony. The messages are more about life on the =
reservation, about the respect for the earth and for the oral tradition. =
Ceremony has a very central major focus and all components help support =
that theme. Again I think that the way that I read Storyteller did not =
do the collect justice but it did give a closer look at Native American =
culture.=20

I guess I just have a couple of closing comments on the class. I have =
enjoyed this class for a number of reasons. First and foremost it is a =
great break from the rest of my classes. But I think the best reason is =
that I enjoy reading and without a literature class this semester I =
would have read very little outside my class work because of time =
restrictions. Over the last 5 years that I have lived in South Dakota I =
have read several of the more traditional books about Native Americans =
and once was very fortunate to be invited to a private Sun Dance. =
Understanding culture and accepting people for who they are is an =
important life skill that has a tendency to be overlooked. Native =
Americans in this area are the largest minority group and there is a =
great deal of prejudicial behavior that has been directed toward them. I =
think classes like this one open the eyes of students to understand that =
the differences in culture are not a very good reason to discriminate. I =
have enjoy your class Dr. Day and I hope that you continue teach this =
class.=20

------=_NextPart_000_0006_01BD0C52.4E59C700
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Post about the video on Leslie Marmon Silko

I thought that the documentary on Silko was interesting. I think that = the=20 first thing that I was really struck by was her age. After reading = Ceremony I=20 thought that the author was an elder female and was passing on the story = and the=20 traditions as a grandmother type figure. Then I see the author, sitting = on the=20 swing, telling stories to her friends and I am struck by the lack of=20 seriousness. Ceremony has such a heavy overtone to it. The issues that = it raises=20 and the scale of the problem leads me to interpret that a serious mature = female=20 writer is at the helm of the story. Stereotypes were made to be broken! =

I think besides the stereotype that I had it shows the depth and = well-rounded=20 nature to Silko and her writing. Ceremony is a road map for the Native = American=20 Indian and their struggle with western civilization. The ceremony is = outline and=20 the commitment to traditional ways must be a strong one. On the other = hand we=20 get a chance to see Silko in another light. Jovial, lighthearted telling = her=20 stories to friends on the porch somewhere on the reservation. It made me = re-think the tone of Ceremony. Is it truly this heavy topic and a very = drastic=20 restructuring of life? Alternatively, is it a series of steps that need = to be=20 taken in the individuals due time? After the movie on Silko I would = think more=20 of the last statement.

Post on the movie Thunderheart

As far as the movie Thunderheart, I think that have a chip on my = shoulder=20 when it comes to Hollywood and producing accurate movies. I think that = as a=20 society we rely too much on television and movies to give us a = historical=20 perspective on things. Unfortunately what happens or happened in history = is not=20 necessary financial lucrative and as a result Hollywood changes the = script to=20 make it more interesting. I think that the Oliver Stone movie JFK is a = prime=20 example of this pitfall. It was not billed, as a purely historical look = at the=20 death of JFK but too many individuals, of my generation, will quote = information=20 from that movie as the only source to the events surrounding JFK death. = I think=20 that this is a dangerous mentality to adopt.

Ok I am off my soapbox and ready to comment on Thunderheart. I think = that=20 there are similarities between Val Kilmer’s character and Tayo. = There is=20 this struggle between two worlds. On one hand the traditional aspects of = Val=20 Kilmer’s character and then his job that his heavily entrenched in = western=20 civilization. The similarities between the abusive father and = Tayo’s=20 problems related to Rocky’s death. Both stories deal with life on = the=20 reservation. I guess that is all well and good but if you really want to = understand what is going on with Native American culture and their = struggle then=20 get informed and visit the reservation. Talk with the people that this = movie is=20 all about. Sure you are an outsider but if you truly make the effort to = get=20 informed and show continued interest then you will gain a greater = understanding=20 that Thunderheart can offer.

Post on Robert Big Elk

I was glad to hear what Robert Big Elk had to say. I think that going = out=20 into the public and letting the western civilization know what he has = been=20 through is an important lesson for us. I also think it is an important = step for=20 Robert and his ability to make this experience a positive one in his = life. I=20 found what he had to say confusing at many points. I think that the = largest=20 question I had after his talk was about the role of Christianity. I = understand=20 that many of his worst experiences where under the direction of Catholic = teachers. However, I also heard that Christianity and Native American = beliefs=20 have many similarities and a mutual ground can be struck between the = two. I=20 wonder if his feeling of anger and resentment is for just the Catholic = teachers=20 or is it a larger resentment.

I am glad that he also talked about the flip side to the topic and = that being=20 that he did get a good education. I think that this understanding of the = good=20 and the bad experience shows that he is coping with the experience and = making it=20 something positive in his life.

I would have liked to ask him some questions though. What should the = role of=20 Native American be in western civilization today? What role should = Christianity=20 play in the lives of Native American if any? Who do you blame for your=20 experiences in this boarding school? I would have liked to ask some of = these=20 questions but the amount of time at the end of the class just was not = enough but=20 it was an interesting and important opportunity.

Post on most interesting character in Ceremony:

The most interesting character in Ceremony for me was Harley. Here we = have a=20 Native American who has gone through the war with Tayo and has returned = to life=20 on the reservation. The part that interests me is the fact that Harley = seems=20 happy or content. He drinks, drives around the reservation and hangs out = with=20 Tayo and company but we do not see any internal rumbling that you see = with Tayo=20 or the any of the more caustic behavior of Emo. He seems to be this = happy go=20 lucky character that doesn’t have any deep felt believe system = about his=20 culture or western civilization. With this attitude he ends up a martyr = at the=20 hands of Emo. That scene still sits a little awkward with me because of = seemly=20 lack of loyalty that Tayo has for his friend. I understand that the = Ceremony is=20 much bigger that Harley or Emo or the reservation but Harley was one of = the few=20 "non toxic" components in Tayo’s life.

Post on Storyteller:

I read Ceremony in large chunks because it helped me get a large=20 understanding of the story and it helped with the chronological upheaval = in the=20 first half of the book. But this tactic didn’t work well for = Storyteller.=20 There were so many stories and poems that either were in Ceremony or = that were=20 similar to Ceremony that I really jumbled them all together. It I had it = to do=20 over I would have read a few stories or poems at a time.

For me Storyteller was new and interesting and a repeat all at the = same time.=20 Silko was collecting the parts or components to write Ceremony. In = Storyteller=20 the parts have an order, a place and a message that is very different = than=20 Ceremony. The messages are more about life on the reservation, about the = respect=20 for the earth and for the oral tradition. Ceremony has a very central = major=20 focus and all components help support that theme. Again I think that the = way=20 that I read Storyteller did not do the collect justice but it did give a = closer=20 look at Native American culture.

Comment on the Class:

I guess I just have a couple of closing comments on the class. I have = enjoyed=20 this class for a number of reasons. First and foremost it is a great = break from=20 the rest of my classes. But I think the best reason is that I enjoy = reading and=20 without a literature class this semester I would have read very little = outside=20 my class work because of time restrictions. Over the last 5 years that I = have=20 lived in South Dakota I have read several of the more traditional books = about=20 Native Americans and once was very fortunate to be invited to a private = Sun=20 Dance. Understanding culture and accepting people for who they are is an = important life skill that has a tendency to be overlooked. Native = Americans in=20 this area are the largest minority group and there is a great deal of=20 prejudicial behavior that has been directed toward them. I think classes = like=20 this one open the eyes of students to understand that the differences in = culture=20 are not a very good reason to discriminate. I have enjoy your class Dr. = Day and=20 I hope that you continue teach this class.